Sat, Oct 20, 2012 -
Biodiversity-Rich Marine Areas in Focus
as Countries Renew Efforts to Curb Species
Loss
Hyderabad (India), 20 October 2012 - The
world's governments have agreed to increase
funding in support of actions to halt the
rate of loss of biodiversity at the eleventh
meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity, which ended today.
Further Resources
For a full list of decisions made at CBD
COP 11TEEB Water and Wetlands reportAvoiding
Future Famines reportProtected Planet 2012
reportTEEB Implementation Guides to Aichi
Targets 2, 3 and 11Cities and Biodiversity
Outlook reportUNEP and Ecosystem ManagementUN
Radio: More action needed to conserve world's
biodiversityDeveloped countries agreed to
double funding to support efforts in developing
states towards meeting the internationally-agreed
Biodiversity Targets, and the main goals
of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.
The Saragasso Sea, the
Tonga archipelago and key corals sites off
the coast of Brazil are among a range of
marine areas to receive special attention
by governments as part of renewed efforts
agreed in Hyderabad to sustainably manage
the world's oceans. Many of the areas are
beyond national jurisdictions and, as such,
receive little or no protection at present.
Other key decisions
taken at the 11th Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD COP 11) include new measures to factor
biodiversity into environmental impact assessments
linked to infrastructure and other development
projects in marine and coastal areas.
Braulio Ferreira de
Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention
on Biological Diversity said: "These
results, coming in a period of economic
crisis, demonstrate that the world is committed
to implementing the CBD. We see that governments
are moving forward in implementation and
seeing biodiversity as an opportunity to
be realized more than a problem to be solved."
"We now need to
move forward in the next two years, under
the able leadership of India, the COP 11
president, to consolidate this work and
to advance further. I look forward to other
pledges in support of the Hyderabad call
for Biodiversity Champions that will allow
us to realize our goals" he said.
More action needed to
conserve world's biodiversity
Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan,
minister of Environment and Forests for
India, and president of the COP said: "The
present economic crisis should not deter
us, but on the contrary encourage us to
invest more towards amelioration of the
natural capital for ensuring uninterrupted
ecosystem services, on which all life on
earth depends."
"The UN biodiversity
conference in Hyderabad has taken forward
the renewed momentum, forged two years ago
in Nagoya," said United Nations Under-Secretary-General
and UN Environment Programme Executive Director
Achim Steiner.
"Countries have
sent a clear signal and delivered additional
commitments underlining the fact that biodiversity
and ecosystems are a development priority
and central to a transition to an inclusive
Green Economy," added Mr. Steiner.
"Mobilizing the
necessary financial resources from the public
and private sector needed to ensure achievement
of the 2020 targets remains a challenge
- but here in India, many nations including
developing economies have signalled their
determination and sense of urgency to seize
the opportunities by providing much needed
additional support," said Mr. Steiner.
Agreements on Funding
Developed countries
agreed at the conference to increase funding
to support efforts in developing states
towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Using a baseline figure
of the average annual national spending
on biodiversity between 2006 and 2010, developed
countries said they would double funding
by 2015. The COP also set targets to increase
the number of countries that have included
biodiversity in their national development
plans, and prepared national financial plans
for biodiversity, by 2015.
All Parties agreed to
substantially increase domestic expenditures
for biodiversity protection over the same
period.
These targets, and progress
towards them, will be reviewed in 2014.
For the first time,
developing countries at COP 11, including
India and several African states, pledged
additional funds above and beyond their
core funding towards the work of the CBD.
Marine Biodiversity
The 193 Parties to the
CBD agreed to classify a diverse list of
marine areas, some renowned for containing
'hidden treasures' of the plant and animal
world, as ecologically or biologically significant.
Earlier this week, UNEP
launched its Protected Planet 2012 report
which found that half of the world's richest
biodiversity zones remain entirely unprotected
- despite a 60 per cent increase in the
number of protected areas since 11000.
To meet the Aichi Biodiversity
Target of ensuring that 10 per cent of marine
areas are protected by 2020, says the UNEP
report, an additional 8 million square kilometres
of marine and coastal areas would need to
be recognized as protected - an area just
over the size of Australia.
Parties to the Convention
also called for more research into the potential
adverse effects of underwater noise from
ships on marine and coastal biodiversity,
and highlighted growing concerns regarding
marine litter. It also recognized the challenge
of climate change impacts on coral reefs,
which, Parties agreed, will require significant
investment to overcome.
There was also a call
to fisheries management bodies to play a
stronger role in addressing the impacts
of fisheries on biodiversity.
The series of agreements
at COP 11 on oceans and coasts builds on
the commitment of countries made at the
United Nations Rio+20 summit in June to
protect and restore marine ecosystems and
to maintain their biodiversity.
National Biodiversity
Plans
Much of the COP 11 negotiations
revolved around practical and financial
support for countries in implementing national
biodiversity plans to meet the Strategic
Plan for Biodiversity and the 2020 Aichi
Biodiversity Targets.
In reviewing global
progress in implementing such measures,
the COP reaffirmed the need for enhanced
technical and scientific cooperation among
countries, while underlining the potential
for enhanced cooperation among developing
countries.
To support such efforts,
a new National Biodiversity Strategies and
Action Plans Forum (NBSAP Forum) was launch
at COP11 by UNEP, CBD, The Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme
(UNDP). The online forum provides easy-to-access,
targeted information such as best practices,
guidelines and learning tools for countries.
UNEP's Economics of
Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) Initiative
also presented a series of practical guides
for governments at COP 11 for integrating
the economic, social and cultural value
of ecosystems into national biodiversity
plans.
COP 11 also agreed to
a number of measures to engage the main
economic sectors, such as business and development
organizations, to integrate biodiversity
objectives in their plans and programmes.
Biodiversity, Forests
and Climate Change
The COP called for enhanced collaboration
between the CBD and UN climate change initiatives
including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation (REDD+)
Given that forests are
home to more than half of all terrestrial
species, initiatives such as REDD+, where
developing countries can receive payments
for carbon offsets for their standing forests,
can potentially help achieve international
biodiversity targets, as well as those concerned
with cutting carbon emissions.
The decision covers
technical advice on the conservation of
forests, sustainable management of forests,
and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
However the COP also
noted discussions around the need for biodiversity
safeguards relating to REDD+ and similar
incentives. Actions such as afforestation
in areas of high biodiversity value, or
the conversion of natural forests to plantations,
for example, may have adverse impacts on
biodiversity.
A parallel summit of
Cities and Local Authorities was convened
with the support of ICLEI. Participants
adopted the Hyderabad Declaration on Subnational
Governments, Cities and other Local Authorities
for Biodiversity, which supports the work
of cities to achieve the Global Strategy
for Biodiversity and calls for greater coordination
between levels of government.
Notes to Editors
Other COP 11 decisions:
The Conference welcomed the establishment
of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) earlier this year and recognized
the potential contribution it could make
to enhance the effectiveness of the Convention.
COP requested IPBES to contribute to assessments
of the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity
Targets. It was decided that the Convention's
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical
and Technological Advice at its next meeting
would provide additional explanatory information
on the tasks requested from IPBES and that
it would convey this information to IPBES
before the its second plenary meeting at
the end of 2013.
A decision on Article
8(j), relating to indigenous and local communities
was adopted which provided a major component
of work on customary sustainable use. The
decision also advanced three tasks that
may contribute to the implementation of
the Nagoya Protocol including Guidelines
related to priori informed consent, mutually
agreed terms and others.
Governments also provided
guidance to the preparations for the entry
into force of the Nagoya Protocol and agreed
that a third meeting of the Intergovernmental
Committee for the Nagoya Protocol will be
needed in the upcoming two years. It was
further urged to complete a number of tasks
in advance of entry into force in a timely
manner.
The conference also
saw the launch of the Hyderabad Call for
Biodiversity Champions. The programme will
accept pledges from governments and organizations
in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.
The government of India this week committed
over US$ 50 million as part of the programme.
The Global Environment
Facility, the financial mechanism of the
Convention, for the first time, was provided
with an assessment of the financial resources
required to meet the needs of developing
countries for implementing the Convention.
For a full list of decisions
made at CBD COP 11, please visit: www.cbd.int/cop11
About the UN Convention
on Biological Diversity
Opened for signature at the Earth Summit
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering
into force in December 1993, the Convention
on Biological Diversity is an international
treaty for the conservation of biodiversity,
the sustainable use of the components of
biodiversity and the equitable sharing of
the benefits derived from the use of genetic
resources. With 193 Parties, the Convention
has near universal participation among countries.
The Convention seeks to address all threats
to biodiversity and ecosystem services,
including threats from climate change, through
scientific assessments, the development
of tools, incentives and processes, the
transfer of technologies and good practices
and the full and active involvement of relevant
stakeholders including indigenous and local
communities, youth, NGOs, women and the
business community. The Cartagena Protocol
on Biosafety is a subsidiary agreement to
the Convention. It seeks to protect biological
diversity from the potential risks posed
by living modified organisms resulting from
modern biotechnology. To date, 164 countries
plus the European Union have ratified the
Cartagena Protocol. The Secretariat of the
Convention and its Cartagena Protocol is
located in Montreal. For more information
visit: www.cbd.int.
About the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
Established in 1972, UNEP is the voice for
the environment within the United Nations
system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate,
educator and facilitator to promote the
wise use and sustainable development of
the global environment. UNEP works with
a wide range of partners, including United
Nations entities, international organizations,
national governments, non-governmental organizations,
the private sector and civil society. UNEP
work encompasses assessing global, regional
and national environmental conditions and
trends; developing international and national
environmental instruments; strengthening
institutions for the wise management of
the environment; facilitating the transfer
of knowledge and technology for sustainable
development; and encouraging new partnerships
and mind-sets within civil society and the
private sector. For more information, visit:
www.unep.org
